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Birds Survived Meteor Strike 66M Years Ago To Evolve Human Speech

Most of life was wiped out 66 million years ago after a meteor strike and only a few species of birds survived life on Earth. Researchers led by Dr. Erich Jarvis at Duke University studied the brains of birds species all the way back to that event. This study investigated the brains of many species of animals for gene expression related to language and vocalization in humans, songbirds, parrots, hummingbirds, macaque monkeys, doves, and quail. A surprising result? Neuroimaging shows there is a molecular similarity between birds and humans in the areas of birdsong and human speech. This is was only demonstrated in vocal-learning birds such as the zebra finch and was not observed in vocal non-learners such as quails and doves. In short: birds and humans use about the same 50 genes to speak and that ability evolved independently in different bird species many times. Another surprising result? The human motor area LMC was more similar to an important area (RA) in songbirds than to the motor cortex of a macaque monkey. As reported by Seana Coulson of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind at UCSD: “In spite of hundreds of millions of years of divergent evolution, birds and humans share similar brain circuits for vocal learning marked by similar expression of about 50 genes. Researchers studying the neurobiology of language have long been held back by the lack of animal models. The Duke research raises the possibility of using songbirds as a molecular model for studying speech production. In this way we may come to understand how the uniquely human trait of language is a new machine made out of old parts.”

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Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Lucy.

Keri is the founder of Raw Science TV. She is a bioengineer and ballet dancer so is interested in the intersection of science and media. She is also active in empowering girls and women in STEM through access to energy and telemedicine. You can follow her on Facebook: @KeriKukral

Lydia works in cancer research as a technical science editor and content creator. She is a futurist interested in space exploration and social initiatives. She is also the co-founder of Givdo, a gaming app where users play sponsored games to win money for charity. You can follow her on Twitter: @lydeey

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